The Rock Music Legend

The Rock Music era was responsible for many of the timeless songs that we all automatically know when we hear them on the radio today. Everything from the early pre-rock evolution like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, the real popularization of the genre with The Beatles and all the way through the 70s and 80’s, the world famous rock groups made some of the greatest hits that the music industry ever saw. Even today, they are still “better” songs than most new music coming out. The musicians and artists of this era had something really special that is not usually evident in modern music. I believe it was a mindset that differs from that of today’s artists. Back then, the industry was all about feeling, emotion, sending a poetic message, and essentially a lifestyle. Although some newer artists can relate to some of those aspects, overall, what drives the music industry is money and ratings in today’s world.

If you were to poll a group of people, I can guarantee that all of them have some kind of rock music either on their mp3 players, or in their house somewhere. It is engrained into our lives and influences the way we live our lives. It is everywhere you go. Whether you’re at a hockey game, listening to radio stations, at parties, or wherever else, it is dominant over all other types of music.

There was a point in time during the 90’s when pop music like Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys was extremely popular and may have slightly drowned out the influence of the Rock Genre on radio stations, but it was still there. Even with Eminem’s debut of hardcore rap music and the birth of hiphop culture, Rock music was right there beside those other music genres still going strong.

In the electronic music era of the present, we are seeing the reintroduction of Rock music coming back into our lives more and more in the form of sampling. Artists are using small clips of older Rock music or musical phrasing within their own genres of music to create common ground with listeners, and just because it sounds cool! From the electronic dance music genre, to R&B, hiphop, and alternative types of new music coming out today, they all use sampling to relate to their audiences. Why is that? Could it be that Rock music has been around for such a long time, and is preferred by so many people that the only way to have the majority of people listen to your music is to add their “favourite flavour” to it to interest them?

It is a shame that more of the Indie Rock Artists who create music today are not recognized in the mainstream music industry. Some of them have some real potential. You can be guaranteed that one day, those bands will become popular again though. It is only a matter of time before Rock music is once again the biggest thing in the music industry. I believe that many other music genres come and go in their own period of time, but Rock Music, the very soul of music, will always be the choice of most people.

I am in the process of writing a series of informational articles about the connection between the guitar and music genres to enlighten readers of some of the more technical aspects of music.

Feel free to read my article “Guitar’s Influence On Rock Music”, a light read about how the guitar affects the sound of rock music, and some of the tricks used by rock guitarists that have transferred into today’s music.